Trio get life term in engineer, wife killing

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Rahul and Amit on the court premises in Bokaro on Tuesday. Picture by Pankaj Singh

The Bokaro district and sessions court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to three persons for the gruesome murder of an engineer of Chandrapura Thermal Power Station (CTPS) and his wife at the DVC Officers’ Colony on September 4 last year.

Sessions judge Amitabh Kumar held servant Rahul Kumar (32), alias Bablu, his wife Bharti (28) and mother-in-law Seema (52) guilty under Sections 302, 394 and 449 of the IPC for murder and loot. Also, Rahul’s younger brother Amit (28), from whose house the stolen ornaments and other valuables were recovered, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. All four were sent to Chas jail after the judgement was passed.

CTPS executive engineer Ajay Kumar Singh and wife Vandana were stabbed to death at their official quarters 34km from Bokaro. The bodies were found on the third-floor Flat 3E with both husband and wife bearing grievous head injuries. Gold and diamond jewellery and other valuables were found missing.

Their two sons, aged eight and five, had gone to school and were not present at the time of the murder.

Rahul and wife Bharti, originally from Purulia (Bengal), used to work at the house and lived in the servant quarters on the ground floor along with Seema Devi. But after the murder came to light, the trio went missing.

Later, all four were arrested from Bengal with the help of Purulia police from their village Gora.